Civil Rights Leader John Lewis gives unique gift to members of Congress

Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis (D-Atlanta) gave his fellow members of Congress a unique Christmas present this holiday.

Lewis gave every member of Congress a copy of the graphic novel, "The March." The comic book chronicles Lewis' childhood and involvement in the civil rights movement.

The graphic novel begins with a pivotal moment in the civil rights struggle - the 1965 March to Selma, Alabama. Lewis was seriously injured when he was hit in the head by a police baton by Alabama State troopers who were attempting to disperse the march.

"We were disciplined," Lewis said. "We were prepared to be jailed, to be beaten, to suffer." Even so, Lewis says he was largely unprepared for the violence he faced that day.

"I thought I was going to die," Lewis said.

Lewis says he was inspired to join the civil right movement after listening to Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio as a child. Lewis would later meet Dr. King as a college student in Tennessee. Lewis says the meeting was life-changing.

He would soon join Dr. King on the front lines of the civil rights movement, fighting desegregation.